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Whittington, Marist hand Oklahoma State rare home loss

Mar 14, 2007 - 7:06 AM STILLWATER, Oklahoma (Ticker) -- Will Whittington and Marist picked a great time to conquer the odds.

Whittington scored 31 points and Ryan Stilphen added 16 and seven rebounds as the seventh-seeded Red Foxes pulled off a huge upset in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament with a 67-64 victory over second-seeded Oklahoma State.

They will face North Carolina State in the second round on Friday.

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Player of the Year Jared Jordan collected nine points, eight assists and seven rebounds for Marist (25-8), which won the MAAC's regular-season title but was upset by rival Siena in the semifinals of the conference tournament.

But the Red Foxes made the most of their appearance in one of most hostile environments in the nation - Gallagher-Iba Arena. Their win was just the third by a non-conference opponent in Stillwater in the last 140 games.

Marist also made school history, notching the first postseason victory for the program. The Red Foxes were 0-2 in the NCAA Tournament.

Now 16th on the NCAA's career 3-pointers list, Whittington was 8-of-20 from the field, including 5-of-13 from the arc, and 10-of-10 from the free-throw line.

Mario Boggan and Obi Muonelo scored 12 points apiece for the Cowboys (22-13), who shot 45 percent (21-of-47).